Adjustable motorized chairs



NOV. 13, 1956 c, L, THQMAS ADJUSTABLE MOTORIZED CHAIRS Filed Feb. 28, 1955 J INVENTOR. (Wes/Pr A 750/7275 Unite This invention relates to an adjustable motorized chair, more particularly for therapeutic purposes.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a highly efficient chair structure which can be quickly and easily adjusted to place a patient in any desired treatment position, and which can also be used to impart a gentle oscillation to the body of the patient substantially in synchronism with the respiration of a patient so as to assist in the stimulation of restful breathing to promote rest and induce sleep.

Another object of the invention is to provide a chair for use in the treatment of retroversion of the uterus which enables a patient to be easily and comfortably placed in genupectoral position and to impart a gentle and continuous oscillating motion to the patients body of a nature to urge the uterus forwardly to the normal position.

Other objects and advantages reside in the detail construction of the invention, which is designed for simplicity, economy, and eificiency. These will become more apparent from the following description.

In the following detailed description of the invention, reference is had to the accompanying drawing which forms a part hereof. Like numerals refer to like parts in all views of the drawing and throughout the description.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a side view of the improved chair, illustrating in broken line various positions to which the elements of the chair may be adjusted;

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section through the chair, taken on the line 3-3, Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section through the chair, taken on the line 4-4, Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged, detail view, illustrating a method of connecting a crank arm to the chair; and

Fig. 6 is a detail, perspective view, illustrating a method of hinging the various chair elements together.

The improved chair is supported between a right side panel 10 and a left side panel 11 which are maintained in rigid, vertical, parallel relation by means of suitable cross struts 12. The upper edge portions of the side panels are preferably padded to form side arm cushions 13 and may be upholstered or decorated in any desired manner, and provided with depending, flexible skirts to cover the supporting portions of the chair. For the purposes of illustration, however, the upholstering and skirts have been omitted.

A seat pivot rod 14 and a brace rod 15 are secured to and extend rigidly between the two side panels 10 and 11. The side panels are also provided with a plurality of rod receiving openings 16 through which an adjusting rod 17 may be passed so as to extend between the two panels at any desired height.

A substantially rectangular seat portion 18 is permanently and tiltably mounted on the seat pivot rod 14 in atent frame.

seat portion.

any desired manner, such as by passing the rod through depending hinge ears 19 formed on the sides of the frame of the seat portion at substantially the middle thereof.

A substantially rectangular leg portion 20 is hingedly secured to the forward extremity of the seat portion 18 and extends forwardly therefrom. The leg portion 20 is adjustable and may be. supported at any desired angle relative to the seat portion 18 by means of a notched brace bar 22. The brace bar 22 is mounted on a hinge member 21 on the back of the leg portion 20 and is pro vided with notches for engagement over the brace rod 15. The leg portion 20 may be provided with a suitable foot rest 23, if desired.

A substantially rectangular, elongated back portion 24 is hinged to the rear extremity of the seat portion 18 and extends rearwardly therefrom. The back portion 24 is provided with rod clips 25 through which the adjusting rod 17 may be positioned. The back portion is pref erably provided with a face opening 28 surrounded by an annular cushion 42 for uses to be later described.

The portions 18, 20 and 24 may have any desired structure. For instance each portion could be suitably backed and upholstered and enclosed in a suitable metal The frames may be hinged together by any suitable hinge structure. One method for hinging these frames is illustrated in detail in Fig. 6 and comprises forming projecting hinge ears 26 on the sides of the frames, with the ears of adjacent frames overlapping each other as shown in Fig. 6 to receive a hinge bolt or rivet 27.

If it is desired to place a patient in a horizontal position, the leg portion 20 is swung upwardly to a horizontal position where it is supported by the brace bar 22. The adjusting rod 17 is withdrawn, and the back portion 24 is lowered to a horizontal position. The adjusting rod 17 is then reinserted through a lower pair of the adjusting openings 16 so that the entire body will be aligned in a horizontal position as indicated at AA, Fig. 1.

Should it be desired to place the patient in a position with the head inclined downwardly, the adjusting rod 17 is withdrawn and the back portion and seat portion are inclined to the position B of Fig. l, and the rod 17 reinserted to maintain the head-dependent position.

One of the most important positions for therapeutic purposes, however, is to incline the seat portion 13 upwardly at the rear so as to elevate the hinge point between the seat portion 18 and the back rest portion 24. The back rest portion is then inclined downwardly from the elevated hinge point and the leg portion 20 is inclined upwardly from the depressed forward extremity of the Such a position is indicated in broken line at C-C in Fig. 1 and is generally known as the genupectoral or knees-chest position for the treatment of uterine retroversion. The patient is placed in the chair face downward with the knees positioned at the hinge point between the seat and leg portions 18 and 20 with both the feet and the hips elevated. The body is bent at the waist over the hinge between the seat and back rest portions and lies face downward on a downward incline on the back portion 20 with the face resting on the annular cushion 28 about the face opening 42.

A wide variety of other positions may be obtained by relative adjustment between the portions 18, 20 and 24 and by adjustment of the rod 17 in various pairs of the adjusting openings 16 and the notches of the brace bar 22 in various positions on the brace rod 15.

The structure as thus far described provides a highly efficient adjustable chair for supporting a patient in a wide variety of treatment positions. Means are also provided for subjecting the chair to a gentle uniform vibration or oscillation for inducing internal massage and assisting in respiration. The latter means employs a base frame consisting of two parallel track boards 29 which are maintained in parallel relation by means of suitable cross members 30 and 31. A pair of resiliently-tired rocking members or supporting wheels 32 ride upon the track boards 29. The wheels 32 are rotatably mounted on an axle 33 extending between the side panels and 11 adjacent the rear and the lower edge thereof.

The wheels 32 act to support the weight of the rear portion of the chair. The weight of the forward portion thereof is carried on a pair of aligned crank arms 34 extending in fixed alignment with each other from a rotating crank shaft 35. The weight of the chair is trans mitted to the crank arms in any desired manner, such as through the medium of angle brackets 36 secured to the side panels of the chair and seated on angle clips 37 mounted on crank pins 38 in the crank arms 34. The crank shaft 35 is supported in pedestal bearings 39 from the cross member 30 and extends through and projects from opposite sides of a speed reducer housing 40 mounted on and supporting an electric drive motor 41.

It can be seen that if the motor 41 is operating, it will act to rotate the crank shaft 35 at reduced speed, causing the crank pins 38 to rotate in a circular path. This circular rotation is imparted to the forward portion of the chair, causing it to ascend and move rearwardly, thence descend and move forwardly in a regular path, with the wheels 32 traveling forwardly and rearwardly on the track boards 29.

The position of the chair and the speed of the motor can be varied and regulated to substantial synchronism with the respiration of a patient to produce a natural restful cycle which in addition to its therapeutic advantages, provides a gentle, soothing, rocking action which results in calming the nerves and inducing sleep.

While a specific form of the improvement has been described and illustrated herein, it is desired to be understood that the same may be varied, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired secured by Letters Patent is:

1. An adjustable chair for therapeutic purposes comprising a frame having a pair of side panels; a seat memher hingedly disposed between said panels on an axis intermediate of the length of said seat member; a leg rest member pivoted to the forward end of said seat memher; a back rest member pivoted to the rear end of the seat member, said back member being provided adjacent to its outer extremity with an aperture and an annular cushion framing said aperture; adjustable means for supporting said back rest member in various positions of pivotal adjustment, including a position at which its pivotal connection with the seat member is raised above the horizontal and the apertured extremity is lowered to a position below the horizontal; said seat member pivoting about its hinge connection to lower its forward extremity below the horizontal when its pivotal connection with the back rest member is raised in the position aforesaid; means for supporting said leg rest member at various positions of pivotal adjustment about its pivotal connection with the seat member, including an upwardly inclined position While the seat member is pivotally adjusted in a lowered position of its forward extremity as aforesaid; and mechanical means for imparting a forward and rearward and an up and down movement to said chair frame, whereby a patient resting face down on said chair in genupectoral position with the face supported on said annular pillow, with the knees positioned at the pivotal junction between the seat portion and the leg rest portion, is given a gentle continuous oscillating motion to further therapeutic action.

2. An adjustable chair for therapeutic purposes as defined in claim 1 wherein said adjustable means for supporting said back rest members comprises a bearing member attached to the back rest member, a series of apertures disposed in a plurality of positions in a vertical array in said side panels, and a rod insertable through selected apertures in said side Panels and through said bearing member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,123,872 Hazelton Jan. 5, 1915 2,427,053 Hampton Sept. 9, 1947 2,529,721 Baruch Nov. 14, 1950 2,630,160 Friedman Mar. 3, 1953 

